Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Tamar inspires
Took a page out of Tamar Adler tonight: combined leftover chicken and steak with sliced mushrooms and a bit of broth and wine and rosemary and garlic. Turned into a delicious stew type thing that we enjoyed with thick toast and fresh parsley. btj
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Curried lentil yumminess
As we hunkered down from Snowmageddon 2015, that meant plenty of time to cook! And even Whole Foods was open 10am-6pm!
I tried the udon noodle soup recipe again for lunch - and this time I didn't overcook the vegetables. Turns out, they do best when you throw them in about 2 minutes before you're done.
We also recreated the fabulous cauliflower riced pilaf from the other night, which was just as glorious. That dish is going to have to make it's way to the Thanksgiving table this year.
And then, I found a new favorite recipe! The other day, I wanted to
make something with lentils and cashews because, well, Cecyl loves
cashews. All the recipes were for curried lentils with cashews, so I picked one and then improvised. I'm not a fan of jalapenos, so I omitted those. I substituted coconut oil for olive oil (cuz who doesn't love coconut oil, and it goes great with curry), and canned tomatoes for regular tomatoes (let's face it, they're out of season). Instead of zucchini, I added sweet potatoes and collard greens. And I added extra spices plus some garam masala. OMG, there are no words. I may have gone back for thirds. Okay, maybe I had fourths. It was so yummy.
I've also gotten in the habit of making my own vegetable stock, which is very easy when you just take all the peels from your onions/carrots/garlic/etc while you're cooking and toss them straight into a pot of boiling water on the back burner, and then strain into a mason jar when you're done and throw it in the refrigerator. So okay, it always tastes a bit like whatever the last vegetable dish was that you were cooking, but it's perfect to have on hand for the next cooking adventure and I prefer it over store-bought vegetable stock.
I tried the udon noodle soup recipe again for lunch - and this time I didn't overcook the vegetables. Turns out, they do best when you throw them in about 2 minutes before you're done.
We also recreated the fabulous cauliflower riced pilaf from the other night, which was just as glorious. That dish is going to have to make it's way to the Thanksgiving table this year.
And then, I found a new favorite recipe! The other day, I wanted to
make something with lentils and cashews because, well, Cecyl loves
cashews. All the recipes were for curried lentils with cashews, so I picked one and then improvised. I'm not a fan of jalapenos, so I omitted those. I substituted coconut oil for olive oil (cuz who doesn't love coconut oil, and it goes great with curry), and canned tomatoes for regular tomatoes (let's face it, they're out of season). Instead of zucchini, I added sweet potatoes and collard greens. And I added extra spices plus some garam masala. OMG, there are no words. I may have gone back for thirds. Okay, maybe I had fourths. It was so yummy. Sunday, January 25, 2015
Food for an upset tummy
I had a nasty stomach bug last week. After a few days of saltines and the BRAT diet, I wanted a little more variety but knew my stomach couldn't handle much.
I recalled that Kichiri is frequently consumed as part of ayurvedic cleanses because it is very easy to digest. I found a simple Kichiri recipe and whipped it up. First of all, I found that you have to be sure to buy split moong beans that are shelled. I bought the ones with shells on, and the shells tend to come off during cooking and float around. Be sure to buy the yellow ones at the grocery store that have been shelled (the beans have green shells). In the first batch, I tried it with ghee. It was very buttery. The second time, I tried it with sesame oil and I preferred the taste. I'd also recommending cutting the oil/ghee in half and doubling the spices. In addition to the cumin and turmeric, I also added coriander and ginger root. Cecyl loves it too! And he adds cashews to it...
Breakfast poses a conundrum when you have stomach issues - what to eat when you wake up with an upset tummy? I'd recalled seeing "morning miso" at Kripalu so thought that might be a nice way to start the day. I just bought some miso paste from Whole Foods and created a little "miso kit" to take to work for breakfast. I put a few scoops of miso, some cubes of tofu, and a handful of spinach in a tupperware container. When I felt up to eating, I put the miso, tofu, and spinach in a mug, poured in some water, and stirred it up - and voila, miso soup! I bought some wakame and spring onion yesterday, so I'll try adding those this week.
I had a great lunch at Douzo this week that involved delicious and tummy-soothing vegetable Udon noodle soup. Oh those yummy chewy noodles! On Friday, I decided I'd figure out how to make my own Udon noodle soup. I took my first (and last) trip to C-mart, the Chinese grocery store a block away from Whole Foods. I braved my way through the fish smell to find rows upon rows of noodles, seaweed, sesame oil, and tofu. I'd browsed lots of different Udon recipes and decided I'd make one with a bunch of different vegetables. The fresh noodles I got from the grocery store were very yummy. For vegetables, I added snow peas, watercress, mushrooms, bean sprouts, carrots, wakame, and tofu. I kinda overcooked the vegetables, so would recommend chopping them all in advance and only cooking them for 5 minutes. The noodles were fresh and seemed cooked already, so only needed a few minutes. I used miso paste as a base and added in some soy sauce as well. Turns out, wakame has a very intense flavor, so you probably only want a pinch (I used too much).
I recalled that Kichiri is frequently consumed as part of ayurvedic cleanses because it is very easy to digest. I found a simple Kichiri recipe and whipped it up. First of all, I found that you have to be sure to buy split moong beans that are shelled. I bought the ones with shells on, and the shells tend to come off during cooking and float around. Be sure to buy the yellow ones at the grocery store that have been shelled (the beans have green shells). In the first batch, I tried it with ghee. It was very buttery. The second time, I tried it with sesame oil and I preferred the taste. I'd also recommending cutting the oil/ghee in half and doubling the spices. In addition to the cumin and turmeric, I also added coriander and ginger root. Cecyl loves it too! And he adds cashews to it...
Breakfast poses a conundrum when you have stomach issues - what to eat when you wake up with an upset tummy? I'd recalled seeing "morning miso" at Kripalu so thought that might be a nice way to start the day. I just bought some miso paste from Whole Foods and created a little "miso kit" to take to work for breakfast. I put a few scoops of miso, some cubes of tofu, and a handful of spinach in a tupperware container. When I felt up to eating, I put the miso, tofu, and spinach in a mug, poured in some water, and stirred it up - and voila, miso soup! I bought some wakame and spring onion yesterday, so I'll try adding those this week.
I had a great lunch at Douzo this week that involved delicious and tummy-soothing vegetable Udon noodle soup. Oh those yummy chewy noodles! On Friday, I decided I'd figure out how to make my own Udon noodle soup. I took my first (and last) trip to C-mart, the Chinese grocery store a block away from Whole Foods. I braved my way through the fish smell to find rows upon rows of noodles, seaweed, sesame oil, and tofu. I'd browsed lots of different Udon recipes and decided I'd make one with a bunch of different vegetables. The fresh noodles I got from the grocery store were very yummy. For vegetables, I added snow peas, watercress, mushrooms, bean sprouts, carrots, wakame, and tofu. I kinda overcooked the vegetables, so would recommend chopping them all in advance and only cooking them for 5 minutes. The noodles were fresh and seemed cooked already, so only needed a few minutes. I used miso paste as a base and added in some soy sauce as well. Turns out, wakame has a very intense flavor, so you probably only want a pinch (I used too much).
Some new vegetable dishes
Thanks to a New Year's resolution to try at least two new recipes each month, and an amazing new Whole Foods that opened just a few blocks away, Cecyl and I will be doing lots of cooking this year!
With a snowstorm heading directly for us, we figured it would be a good time to cook up a few new recipes. We wanted to try some new recipes and make items that could be taken for lunch during the week.
On the menu for tonight:
Butternut squash with sage, garlic, and pine nuts (we had this dish last night at tapas restaurant and wanted to recreate it)
Braised cabbage
Hashed brussels sprouts with lemon zest - per Mom and Dad's recommendation
Cauliflower "rice" pilaf
Once we set everything out, we realized it wasn't exactly the most organized, sensical meal as it was mostly side dishes. Whatever, it was delicious and filling!
The hashed brussels sprouts initially were a surprise as we were expecting a crispier consistency, but they grew on us. The lemon and cumin marriage is lovely.
For the braised cabbage, I modified a recipe from the Thug Kitchen cookbook - it was green cabbage, half an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a few cups of veggie broth, covered and put in the oven at 350 for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Seemed a bit boring at first, but was definitely livened up by some balsamic vinegar drizzled on at the end and overall had a nice, complex flavor (for cabbage).
Cecyl's favorite was the butternut squash. Next time I do the recipe, we'll double the amount of sage and garlic we use. We livened it up by sprinkling fresh sage on it at the end.
My favorite was the Cauliflower pilaf. Soooo yummy and perfect and with delicious spices, it got me excited to put riced cauliflower in everything! Perhaps next time I make khichiri, I'll try it with riced cauliflower. I'm also interested in making trying a riced cauliflower risotto. Next time we make it, we're going to substitute cashews for pine nuts and see how it tastes - Cecyl is obsessed with cashews and would put them in everything if he could.
For dessert, we were delighted to see that the new Whole Foods carries hand-packed pints of FoMu ice cream, which is a coconut-based vegan ice cream made at the FoMu ice cream shop in Allston.
With a snowstorm heading directly for us, we figured it would be a good time to cook up a few new recipes. We wanted to try some new recipes and make items that could be taken for lunch during the week.
On the menu for tonight:
Butternut squash with sage, garlic, and pine nuts (we had this dish last night at tapas restaurant and wanted to recreate it)
Braised cabbage
Hashed brussels sprouts with lemon zest - per Mom and Dad's recommendation
Cauliflower "rice" pilaf
Once we set everything out, we realized it wasn't exactly the most organized, sensical meal as it was mostly side dishes. Whatever, it was delicious and filling!
The hashed brussels sprouts initially were a surprise as we were expecting a crispier consistency, but they grew on us. The lemon and cumin marriage is lovely. For the braised cabbage, I modified a recipe from the Thug Kitchen cookbook - it was green cabbage, half an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a few cups of veggie broth, covered and put in the oven at 350 for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Seemed a bit boring at first, but was definitely livened up by some balsamic vinegar drizzled on at the end and overall had a nice, complex flavor (for cabbage).
Cecyl's favorite was the butternut squash. Next time I do the recipe, we'll double the amount of sage and garlic we use. We livened it up by sprinkling fresh sage on it at the end.
My favorite was the Cauliflower pilaf. Soooo yummy and perfect and with delicious spices, it got me excited to put riced cauliflower in everything! Perhaps next time I make khichiri, I'll try it with riced cauliflower. I'm also interested in making trying a riced cauliflower risotto. Next time we make it, we're going to substitute cashews for pine nuts and see how it tastes - Cecyl is obsessed with cashews and would put them in everything if he could.
For dessert, we were delighted to see that the new Whole Foods carries hand-packed pints of FoMu ice cream, which is a coconut-based vegan ice cream made at the FoMu ice cream shop in Allston.
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